General Pro Wrestling News and Discussion Thread Part Deux!

^ Unless I missed something, Beth's contract expired and she chose not to re-sign; she wasn't actually fired.

With regards to the WWE's current crop of Divas, the one who has clearly been handled the best despite the WWE's lack of direction with regards to the division is AJ. I said this in comments on a couple of Bleacher Report articles, but I honestly feel that she's already reached the same heights as Trish Stratus and Lita despite not having yet won a single title in the WWE or having been truly given a chance to showcase her in-ring skills since joining the main WWE roster (she more than got the chance to do so in FCW, and if anyone doubts that she can actually go in the ring, they really ought to check out some of her FCW matches, particularly matches for the FCW Divas title against Naomi Knight and Aksana [the former in which she was a challenger, and the latter in which she was champion]).

^It's not fair to say that only those women who were 'career wrestlers' achieved lasting success in the WWE, nor is it accurate: Trish Stratus (she of the 7 WWE Women's Championship reigns) and Michelle McCool (the Diva who's come the closest to being Trish's truest successor) started out their careers as a model/fitness instructor and teacher, respectively.

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That's not what I'm saying at all. The list was all about listing who I felt wanted to be wrestlers the most (as in, "known" only for being a wrestler) out of all the Divas that worked for the WWE. Trish did well sure, the business grew on her, but when she originally debuted, she was definitely one of those people looking for a platform on which to launch their showbiz careers.

You also left Ivory off of your list, which further belies the argument you were trying to make since she started out her career as an actual wrestler the same way that the others you mentioned did.

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No, I actually listed Ivory, look again.

The sentiment that the WWE's biggest problem is that they hire models/actresses rather than actual wrestlers also doesn't hold true because of the success that Kelly Kelly, Eve, and Layla have achieved; although none of those three will ever hold a candle to Trish, Lita, Beth Phoenix, and Kharma when it comes to their sheer in-ring ability, they actually do have in-ring skills.

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No, WWE MAKES people successful more often than not, it's about how they are packaged and how much WWE gets behind them. This is why John Cena makes upwards of $5 million a year to come out and do the same routine, and why many independent professional wrestling virtuosos are living by the paycheck, as they re-define the art. Think about all the underwear models and wannabe actresses they have interviewed, and chosen not to hire. Think about how many models and actresses have failed upon being hired by WWE. There weren't many, up until recent times, but history shows that those with a wrestling background or a desire to be a professional wrestler (first and foremost), is consistent with people caring about the Divas division.

- Mysterio and Sin Cara to become number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship
- Kofi Kingston to retain the Intercontinental Championship
- Antonio Cesaro to retain the United States Championship
- Dolph Ziggler to retain his Money In The Bank Briefcase
- Sheamus to win the World Heavyweight Championship
- The Shield to defeat Team Hell No and Ryback

I do have a feeling that WWE could swerve us by booking Dolph Ziggler to cash-in and win the World Heavyweight Championship from Big Show or Sheamus, prior to the ladder match against Cena. This would be in a "classic heel" tactic to get out of the match. This would then be followed by some confusion when the match is due to start, since there is no briefcase to be defended. Cue, Mr McMahon coming down to the ring and announcing that the match will be for the WHC instead.

Did anyone see Final Resolution? It was very good. As for TLC, Ziggler vs. Cena is the only interesting thing. The only other things are a sense of doom in case Sheamus wins or they go to a fourth match, and that The Shield amount to nothing worth seeing (still).

Did anyone see Final Resolution? It was very good. As for TLC, Ziggler vs. Cena is the only interesting thing. The only other things are a sense of doom in case Sheamus wins or they go to a fourth match, and that The Shield amount to nothing worth seeing (still).

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Judging from the reactions I've read about TLC (haven't seen it yet myself), it looks like WWE surprised everyone with a quality PPV and a Shield push that makes sense. Color me shocked.

The Shield vs. Ryback/Kane/Bryan was a very good match, filled with brutality, and with a satisfying finish (the new stars picked up the win, decisively).

The crowd was incredible for the main event. They really got behind Ziggler and booed the hell out of Cena. It almost felt like a Chicago PPV (where Cena is almost universally loathed, and his opponents, regardless of alignment and popularity, are cheered) and I have to say I actually thought Cena put in a lot of effort, where wrestling is concerned. Still, that hurricanrana was a terrible idea, Cena's mass isn't compatible with the move, (as evidenced by Cena botching the floor tuck) he should concentrate on power moves, albeit with variation and innovation.

The ending was pretty cool, albeit cliched. AJ turned heel by shoving Cena off the ladder, allowing Ziggler to KO Cena with a superkick, and giving him enough time to scale the ladder and retrieve his briefcase.

Tonight's RAW was excellent (IMO, anyway), with comebacks galore, a very impactful debut, and a bunch of really good matches. The Slammy presentations were also handled really well, with a great mix of predictable results and unexpected surprises.

My favorite moments:
* The Miz, Del Rio, and Tommy Dreamer vs. 3MB

* AJ kissing Dolph Ziggler

* The return of Ric Flair

* The return of Triple H

* Flair's confrontation with CM Punk and Paul Heyman

* Flair, Ryback, and Team Hell No taking out The Shield

* Brodus Clay getting back on the winning track vs. JTG

* AJ walking out during the main event, only to come back with Big E Langston

* Kaitlyn defeating Eve with a version of the GTS

2012 isn't quite over, but the WWE has already started paving the way for an explosive and interesting 2013.

Let's do our own version of the Slammys, only this time all of Pro Wrestling is eligible. You can add or amend categories as you see fit (since I'm not including the silly ones that are WWE exclusive)

Wrestler of the Year: CM Punk (I can't think of anyone who has been more talked about and a consistently good worker)
Pop of the Year: Brock Lesnar's return at the post-Wrestlemania Raw (Epic)
Heat of the Year: John Cena at the post-Wrestlemania Raw (also epic)
Tag Team of the Year: Daniels and Kazarian
Upset of the Year: Kazuchika Okada beating Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Female Wrestler of the Year: Sara Del Ray
Comeback of the Year: Paul Heyman (Lawler didn't really have a comeback, since he never actually left the business)
Match of the Year: Undertaker vs. Triple H at Wrestlemania XXVIII
PPV of the Year: Wrestlemania XXVIII

Yeah we did this last year too...but I don't think I can provide a definitive list this year since I've barely been watching. CM Punk would be my wrestler of the year. I think if we had an OMG Category it would be his heel turn (which I still don't like how it happened). Other than that though I don't think I've watched enough to give any good comprehensive picks.

CM Punk is definitely Wrestler of the Year, and John Cena ought to get Heat of the Year, but through no real fault of his own. Cena is a talented guy, but the old saying goes that absence makes the heart grow fonder.... and Cena still hasn't been absent from the WWE title picture long enough for him to draw anything but heat from the majority.

I have to admit to laughing my ass off when Del Rio hit Santa and the crowd started chanting, "You killed Santa!". Cena cheerleading the locker room against Del Rio and the subsequent comedy match was pure, unadulterated monkey shit, though.

I don't know what happened in between because I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the rest of the show knowing the faces would always win since it's a heartwarming Christmas episode.

the episode between (or in this case on christmas eve) has always been one of the worst shows of the year. if memory is correct, they used to take this week off of tv and just have a raw retrospective of the whole year. only a few years ago did they start showing a first run show.

Wow. Three weeks since the last post in this thread, maybe I'm not the only one who has lost interest now? That being said, I did watch most of Raw last week and wasn't impressed by it. Punk's pipebomb promo that brought out the Rock at the end was pretty amazing, Rock needs to lay off the jokes though, because they kind of don't work against Punk. Maybe they did with Cena and their promos, but Punk is on an entirely different level than Cena and is almost always on his "A" Game on the mic. That was also a horrid Rock Bottom he hit on Punk, and yes I realized that Rock is again rusty, but still it was bad.

Alberto Del Rio captured the World Heavyweight Championship on Smackdown, something that I thought should have happened several months ago. It will be interesting to see where this push goes for Del Rio or if he ends up blowing it again.

I wonder again when we might see the new WWE Championship Title, or if WWE has decided to put off introducing it now. They're running out of milestone moments to introduce it now.

Don't really think the 20th Anniversary Edition of Raw tomorrow will be any different than anything else we've seen lately, except for appearances by various people. Both the Undertaker and Brock are rumoured to return pretty soon as well.